The Dual/Duel Nature of Humanity - Thoughts to End 2019
I like the title of this blog post. I find it creative, if I do say so myself. As human beings, we have a dual/duel nature. That is, our contrasting natures duel with one another. Paul wrote about this in Romans 7 when he described wanting one thing and doing the opposite thing (the thing he hated).
There are several things that have brought about this thought process for me - a thought process that is, perhaps, a good way to end the new year. This morning, though, I was thinking about my thesis that I wrote in the first few months of this year. In that thesis, I wrote about one attack against Karl Marx - the fact that he could be quite anti-Semitic. The same condemnation has been made of Martin Luther. How could individuals who seemed to care so much for the well-being of other people (physical for Marx, spiritual for Luther) be so cold-hearted in another area? How could Abraham Lincoln, who fought tirelessly to free slaves turn around and initiate the Indian Wars? I once had someone ask me how Mother Teresa could truly have cared about the poor when she was a part of one of the wealthiest organizations in the world. The same person pointed out that Gandhi could be cruel to those with whom he disagreed. How can this be?
These are legitimate questions. But, in truth, aren't we all dualistic in this way? We all can be both kind and cruel. We all can be hypocritical. We all have ideas about which we are passionate and other injustices, other things, other people that we do not even contemplate. Why? I believe it is because we are finite human beings, just as Paul wrote. We are human. We are not going to do everything perfectly. We are born into environments that are far from perfect. We are hurt and battled and bruised. And we are sinful. We are going to make big mistakes. We are going to fail. We are going to cause pain and we are going to heal. We are going to have brilliant ideas and then omit from our lives actions that would have been helpful if we had only thought to initiate them.
I believe our society has improved in many ways. Abuses are being revealed more and more. They are no longer hidden and tolerated. We now recognize and stand against many oppressions that were a part of everyday life in the past. However, one way I believe our society has deteriorated is we do not offer grace. We do not recognize humanity as fallible.
I browsed an article just yesterday about the millennial generation leaving the church. I have read several articles about this topic, and I generally shake my head and say, "Millennials recognize hypocrisy when they see it." However, this article made an interesting statement. It said the millennial generation is the most educated. They are more educated than any previous generation. Maybe they believe education can create the perfect society. Education will see to it that we do not make the mistakes of past generations. The most educated generation, perhaps, is putting too much confidence in the idea that education is the savior of the world. Ironically, the true Savior of the world prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." While I am obviously a huge proponent of education and critical thinking, we cannot educate our way out of grace. While, as I have blogged many times, I can see so much error in our nationalistic brand of Christianity, perhaps a part of the tragedy is that not only has Christianity become tainted but that the generation who has refused to be a part of it has also rejected the grace taught in the Bible. Our society has forgotten the dueling nature of humanity because, in a world without grace, there is no room for such contradictions. Humanity is expected to reach perfection. It is expected to never fail. It is expected to use perfect reasoning. All these things are impossible. The very definition of utopia is nowhere land. The apostle Paul discovered God's strength is made perfect in our human weakness. We are going to have weaknesses. He has that covered.
I think that is one of my biggest prayers for 2020. It is so easy to get caught up in this line of thinking. I need to recognize and give grace. I need to understand the dichotomy of human nature that will never, at least not this side of eternity, be remedied, and I need to acknowledge God still has it all covered. Paul wrote about this also, when he wrote in I Corinthians 4 that his conscience was clear even though he may not be innocent. It is up to God to judge. That really is a part of grace. We must let God take care of what we do not understand - why historical figures and people in today's world are so complicated when it comes to good and evil. We must allow His grace to fill in those cracks in our beautifully-contoured facade.
There are several things that have brought about this thought process for me - a thought process that is, perhaps, a good way to end the new year. This morning, though, I was thinking about my thesis that I wrote in the first few months of this year. In that thesis, I wrote about one attack against Karl Marx - the fact that he could be quite anti-Semitic. The same condemnation has been made of Martin Luther. How could individuals who seemed to care so much for the well-being of other people (physical for Marx, spiritual for Luther) be so cold-hearted in another area? How could Abraham Lincoln, who fought tirelessly to free slaves turn around and initiate the Indian Wars? I once had someone ask me how Mother Teresa could truly have cared about the poor when she was a part of one of the wealthiest organizations in the world. The same person pointed out that Gandhi could be cruel to those with whom he disagreed. How can this be?
These are legitimate questions. But, in truth, aren't we all dualistic in this way? We all can be both kind and cruel. We all can be hypocritical. We all have ideas about which we are passionate and other injustices, other things, other people that we do not even contemplate. Why? I believe it is because we are finite human beings, just as Paul wrote. We are human. We are not going to do everything perfectly. We are born into environments that are far from perfect. We are hurt and battled and bruised. And we are sinful. We are going to make big mistakes. We are going to fail. We are going to cause pain and we are going to heal. We are going to have brilliant ideas and then omit from our lives actions that would have been helpful if we had only thought to initiate them.
I believe our society has improved in many ways. Abuses are being revealed more and more. They are no longer hidden and tolerated. We now recognize and stand against many oppressions that were a part of everyday life in the past. However, one way I believe our society has deteriorated is we do not offer grace. We do not recognize humanity as fallible.
I browsed an article just yesterday about the millennial generation leaving the church. I have read several articles about this topic, and I generally shake my head and say, "Millennials recognize hypocrisy when they see it." However, this article made an interesting statement. It said the millennial generation is the most educated. They are more educated than any previous generation. Maybe they believe education can create the perfect society. Education will see to it that we do not make the mistakes of past generations. The most educated generation, perhaps, is putting too much confidence in the idea that education is the savior of the world. Ironically, the true Savior of the world prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." While I am obviously a huge proponent of education and critical thinking, we cannot educate our way out of grace. While, as I have blogged many times, I can see so much error in our nationalistic brand of Christianity, perhaps a part of the tragedy is that not only has Christianity become tainted but that the generation who has refused to be a part of it has also rejected the grace taught in the Bible. Our society has forgotten the dueling nature of humanity because, in a world without grace, there is no room for such contradictions. Humanity is expected to reach perfection. It is expected to never fail. It is expected to use perfect reasoning. All these things are impossible. The very definition of utopia is nowhere land. The apostle Paul discovered God's strength is made perfect in our human weakness. We are going to have weaknesses. He has that covered.
I think that is one of my biggest prayers for 2020. It is so easy to get caught up in this line of thinking. I need to recognize and give grace. I need to understand the dichotomy of human nature that will never, at least not this side of eternity, be remedied, and I need to acknowledge God still has it all covered. Paul wrote about this also, when he wrote in I Corinthians 4 that his conscience was clear even though he may not be innocent. It is up to God to judge. That really is a part of grace. We must let God take care of what we do not understand - why historical figures and people in today's world are so complicated when it comes to good and evil. We must allow His grace to fill in those cracks in our beautifully-contoured facade.
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